By Karen Kadilak | Sunday, July 24, 2016, TRIB-LIVE
Fox Chapel tennis coach Alex Slezak has earned an impressive honor.
Slezak, 34, of Hampton was named the recipient of the 2015 United States Tennis Association Middle States Allegheny Mountain District High School Coach of the Year Award.
He was picked from a group of candidates earlier this year.
In his first season as boys coach, Slezak led the Foxes to their first WPIAL title and a second-place finish at the PIAA Class AAA tournament. The Foxes were undefeated before losing in the state final.
He took Fox Chapel to the WPIAL playoffs in his seventh season as girls coach last fall. Girls players Amanda Nord and Laurel Shymansky won WPIAL and PIAA doubles crowns.
He has a 105-39 record with both squads.
Allegheny Mountain president Dave Hayden nominated Slezak.
“He is an excellent coach and he does (a lot) for high school tennis,” Hayden said.
Slezak said he was humbled by the award.
“There are so many great coaches out there who dedicate so much time and effort to working with high school players,” he said. “(Any time) you get recognized for doing things well it is very validating, but what inspires me is the impact I can have on the lives of young people.”
Nord, 16, a rising junior from O’Hara, likes Slezak’s coaching style.
“(There’s) not a lot of pressure,” she said. “He gives good tips.
“It’s easy to be around him.”
Siddharth Rajupet, 18, of Indiana Township, a Case Western recruit, said Slezak motivated the boys team like “we’ve never been motivated before.”
Fox Chapel athletic director Mike O’Brien thinks being a teacher helps Slezak as a coach.
Slezak is a physical education instructor in the school district.
“He is a teacher, first and foremost, and that is evident in how he pushes (his players) to new heights each and every day,” O’Brien said.